Stars-Blues Preview

Associated Press

With one All-Star temporarily sidelined by injury, the Dallas Stars will rely on another to keep them in games.

Marty Turco will try to backstop the Stars to their third straight win when they wrap up a four-game road trip Saturday against the St. Louis Blues.

Dallas (31-19-2) got 18 saves from Turco and beat the Sharks 4-2 on Thursday for its second straight win at San Jose.

"We had to come in here with the intention of playing well," Stars coach Dave Tippett said. "If we're going to get ourselves to the level in the standings that San Jose is, then these were very important games, and we gained three points on them."

The Stars played without leading scorer and All-Star starting defenseman Philippe Boucher, who was scratched with a lower-body injury and is day-to-day. Boucher leads the Stars with just 36 points, but scored the tying goal with 2.2 seconds to play en route to a 3-2 shootout victory over San Jose on Tuesday.

That makes the Stars' reliance on Turco more important, and he said he's up for the challenge.

"I don't feel tired and I don't even let myself think about playing in 'x' number of games in a row," Turco said on the Stars' Web site. "If you don't think about being tired, you won't be tired. If anything, I thrive on playing almost every night and I take each game and each day, one at a time.

"I'm the kind of guy that gets antsy when I'm not out there. I was actually able to get some rest during the All-Star Break, and this trip has been smooth because we've had a day off in between each game. I'm honestly feeling great right now, excited about two big wins in San Jose and I'm ready to get back out there (Saturday) night (at St. Louis)."

Turco made 23 saves in Dallas' 4-1 win over St. Louis on Nov. 1, and is 8-2-1 with a tie, a 1.84 goals-against average and two career shutouts versus the Blues.

Mike Modano had an assist Thursday in his second game back after missing nearly two months with hip and groin injuries. The franchise's all-time leading scorer had a goal and assist in the win over the Blues earlier this season.

Dallas will play nine of its next 12 at home after this contest, including two games each against Anaheim and San Jose. The Stars are in third place in the Pacific Division, three points behind the Sharks and eight points in back of the Ducks.

St. Louis (20-24-8) rallied from three one-goal deficits before losing its third game in a row, 5-3 to Detroit on Friday. Lee Stempniak, Ryan Johnson and Keith Tkachuk scored for the Blues, who have allowed 16 goals during the losing streak.

"Special teams was the difference," Tkachuk said. "Our power play didn't get it done at the end of the game. ... That was a winnable game for us."

St. Louis was 0-for-6 on the power play, and just 1-for-22 in its last six games.

Despite its current slide, St. Louis is 13-5-2 since Dec. 19. The Blues were 7-19-6 when coach Andy Murray replaced the fired Mike Kitchen on Dec. 11.

St. Louis' Bill Guerin played in his 1,000th NHL game Friday, but didn't record a point. Guerin scored 72 goals in three seasons with Dallas - including a career-high 34 in 2002-03. He needs one goal for 350 in his career, and leads the Blues with 21 goals and 37 points this season.